Carriage control adapter for the electric feed of saw mills



April 8, 1958 R. 'R. PHELPS ET AL 2,829,535

CARRIAGE CONTROL ADAPTER FOR THE ELECTRIC FEED OF SAW MILLS Filed June 1, 1954 1 5\ \7 l M, as

-15 I J E i-. 53 M I I IIIH as r b s2 INVENTORa RoLuN Rim-news AND BY Rev A. Bevan 5 A ToRHEvs bird! CARRIAGE CONTROL ADAPTER FOR THE ELECTRIC FEED F SAW MILLS Rollin R. Phelps, Cottonwood, and Roy A. Beekly;

Redding, Calif.

This invention relates to a new and improved carriage control adapter for the electric feed of saw mills.

In conventional saw mill practice, logs are mounted on.

a carriage which is advanced toward the saw, stopped after the entire length of the log has been sawed, then retracted, stopped again, and then advanced for anew cut. The sawyer is required manually to control movement of the carriage in order to perform the forgoing operations. At the present time a carriage control for stopping, advancing and retracting the carriage is constructed with a large lever to actuate the control mechanism. Such a lever in a common mechanism has a length of 32 inches and an angular travel of 180. Actuation of such a lever requires a difficult manual movement, consumes the time of the sawyer, is fatiguing andrequires that the entire body of the operator be moved from one position to another which makes it difficult for him to keep the log on the carriage under constant observation.

In accordance with the present invention a much shorter control lever is required and the angular travel is considerably reduced. Thus, in accordance with the present invention the conventional 32 inch lever is replaced with United States Patent 0 2,829,535 Patented Apr. 8, 1958 ice t is performed through a shaft 12 which projects through one having a 12 inch length and the angular travel of the lever is reduced from 180 to 60.

One of the advantages of the present invention is the fact that it is easier for the sawyer to control his rig which increases the outputof lumber from the mill. The present invention eliminates slide in the carriage which further improves the output of the mill.

Another object and feature of the invention is the provision of better and more positive control of the carriage at all times.

Still another object of the invention is the reduction of the wear of the cable which drives the carriage by reducing the number and abruptness of stops and starts of the carriage.

The principal advantages of the invention are its safety, the ease with which it may be installed on a conventional carriage control, and the ease with which the sawyer can learn to operate the device.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the carriage control, adapter and guard mounted on the end of the carriage control.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation with the guard partially broken away. i

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 2.

As illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings, a sawmill carriage control 11 is provided, the details of construction of which form no part of this invention and are not illustrated or described in detail herein.

the front end 13 ofthe control housing. In conventional mills, a control lever is attached directly to shaft 12. In accordance with the present invention, the lever is removed from shaft 12' and replaced with a pinion 14 which meshes with a gear or gear segment 16. The pitch circle of gear 16 is considerably greater than that of the pinion 14, being approximately ofa ratio of 17 to 10 so that the angular travel of gear 16 is considerably amplified insofar as the angular travel of the meshing pinion 14 and shaft 12 is concerned. Desirably the gears and pinion are provided with spiral teeth to reduce the tendency of backlash.

In order to mount the gear 16, an enlarged metal plate 17 is provided whiclrfits flush against the front end 13 of the control through which shaft 12 projects. A hole 18 is provided for projection of shaft 12. Plate 17 is formed with slots 19 for reception of studs 21 projecting from the end 13 and held on by nuts 22 or for other fastening means. The slots 19 permit adjustment of plate 17 to a variety of carriage, controls. Mounted on plate 17 above shaft 12 is a shoulder pin 23 which projects outwardly from the surface of plate 17. One means of securing the pin 23 to the plate 17 is illustrated particularly in Fig. 3. Thus, it will be seen thatan enlarged circular shoulder 24 is formed behind plate and welded thereto. A reduced diameter portion or shoulder 26 passes through a hole in plate 17 and beyond plate is a further reduced diameter or journal portion 27 on which gear 16 rotates. It will be noted that shoulder 26 projects beyond the surface of plate 17 a sufficient distance to prevent any tendency of gear 16 to bind against the plate. Gear 16 is formed with an outwardly projecting collar 28 and is held on pin 23 by washer 29 and nut 31 which is threaded on the outer extremity of pin 23. A grease fitting 32 lubricates the bearing between gear 16 and journal 27 and the lubrication duct 33 is carried outward to the teeth of gear 16 to lubricate the gear and pinion 14. j

Handle 36 is attached to collar 28 of gear 16. As

illustrated particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, handle 36 comf prises a metal, radially-extending member, the outer end of which is provided with a hand grip 37 which facilitates angular movement. 28 and up along the sides of lever 36, being formed arcuate in the lever-engaging extremities 39 and secured to the lever by means of nuts and bolts 41. The inner end of lever 36 may be welded to collar 28.

In order to protect the operator against entanglement in the gears, a guard 46 is provided. Such a guard com prises a metal member which has horizontal feet 47 bolted by means of bolts 48 to plate 17 and outwardly extending legs 49 which project out so as to clear the zone through which lever 36 moves. In front elevation the legs 49 are downwardly converging so that the front of the guard is trapezoidal in shape. The distance between the upper ends of the legs 49 is sufficient to permit approximately a 60 angular movement of lever 36 befor it contacts the upper ends of legs 49. The 60 movement of lever 36 imparts a sufiicient angular travel to shaft 12 to operate the control 11 properly. It will be understood that a hole 52 through which grease fitting Further, to prevent sawdust or other foreign matter A metal strap 38 passes under collar from jamming in gear 16, an arcuate metal dust guard 57 is welded to plate 17 surrounding the top half of gear 16. Dust guard 57 reduces the tendency of saw dust to lodge between the teeth of the gear and also prevents other foreign matter from falling behind guard and damaging the gears.

In operation, the sawyer grasps hand grip E7 and is aiforded a 60 pivotal movement of handle 36-4. e. 30 to either side of vertical. Angular movement of handle 36 is transmitted to gear 16, the angularinovement of which magnified upon transmission to meshing pinion 14 so that a 60 movement of the gear accomplishes approximately a 180 movement of the pinion and shaft 12 which is necessary for proper advancing, stopping and retracting of the carriage control mechanism. It will further be observed that the relatively short angular movement of handle 36 greatly facilitates operation of the carriage control in that it reduces the amount of wrist movement required. Guards 46 and 57 prevent the clothing of the operator from becoming entangled in the gears and further preventing any undesirable substance from lodging therein and damaging the gears.

Although the foregoing invention has been described by way of illustration and example in some detail, for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An adapter for a sawmill carriage control comprising a shaft for actuating said control and projecting therefrom, a pinion on said shaft, a plate apertured to receive said shaft and disposed behind said pinion, means mounting said plate on said control, a pin on said plate, a gear on said pin meshing with said pinion, an integral collar on said gear projecting from said gear in a direction away from said plate, a handle on said collar, means connecting said handle to said collar to cause said gear and pinion to turn with said handle, said gear having a greater pitch diameter than said pinion, whereby upon pivotal move ment of said handle, said gear and pinion are rotated through an augmented angular travel proportional to said pitch diameters, a first guard and a second guard to protect the operator and also to protect the pinion and gear from foreign matter, said first guard stationarily disposed over said gear and pinion, said second guard disposed forwardly of said gear and pinion, and stop means com prising a pair of spaced, downwardly converging legs projecting substantially normal to said second guard on either side of said handle to limit pivotal movement of said handle within substantially 2. In an adapter for a saw mill carriage control the combination including a shaft for actuating said control and projecting therefrom, a pinion on said shaft, 21 plate apertured to receive said shaft and disposed rearwardly of said pinion, means mounting said plate in fixed relation to said control, a gear journaled on said plate and positioned to mesh with said pinion, a handle, means connecting said handle to Said gear in a position normal to the axis of the later whereby movement of said handle imparts movement to said gear, said gear formed with a greater diameter than said pinion, a first guard and a second guard to protect the operator and to protect the pinion and gear fromforeign matter, said first guard stationarily disposed over said gear and pinion, said second guard disposed forwardly of said gear and pinion, and spaced stop means projecting from said second guard on either side of said handle to limit pivotal movement of the later.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

